Journey to a New World
by Mizu Hikari
Summary: A girl named Mizu finds herself in the world of the videogame, "Kingdom Hearts", after getting a gift on her birthday. Talk about a "happy" birthday. SoraXKairi SoraXOC CloudXOC Put up to T for safety. REWRITING
1. The Beginning :Rewrite:

_**Journey to a New World**_

**EDIT: This is a rewrite! This is a REWRITE!**

MizuHikari (8/19/09): Hello and welcome. I would like everyone to know that I am finally returning to rewrite/publish stories that I have neglected for so long. Due to certain circumstances, I did not go on for quite a while but that has passed. This story is the first one I will be rewriting since I loved the original. I would like to thank everyone for keeping this story in their story alerts, favorites or just dropping by to see if this story had progressed. You all give me a reason to continue writing. Those who are new to the story I would like to extend a big welcome and thank you for taking your time to read it. So, I hope you all enjoy the new and improved version of **Journey to a New World**.

Original Notes: Okay; so I came up with this story when I was about to go to sleep... I don't know.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters created by Disney and SquareSoft/Enix. However I do own a bunch of KH merchandise which I spend lots of my hard earned money on. I also own all the characters you've never heard of (sort of).

This story is about my OC Mizu finding herself in an unknown but familiar world.

Enjoy!

-00-

Chapter 1: Birthday Gift

Mizu was always a girl who loved fantasy. Ever since she was a small child, her head was always filled with images of magical creatures and never before seen worlds. Every year, her parents would always notice that she still believed in childish things. However, they decided it'd be best she taught herself that not everything was as it seemed in her head.

"Happy Birthday Mizu!" her cousin exclaimed happily. His brown eyes fell upon the birthday girl who stood there smiling brightly. She returned the smile, thanking everyone for coming to her party.

"Hey, it's no problem," Jay pulled her hair up in a loose ponytail, as everyone agreed.

"You're finally sixteen!" Megumi cheered, pumping her fist into the air. "It's like you've just become a new person, isn't it?"

"I know, but I don't feel any different," she laughed, looking at everyone. "I'm just...me."

"Well, of course you don't," Enti ruffled Mizu's hair. "You are still the same person, right?"

"Yeah," Mizu said, as she patted down her hair. "But, I don't know. I thought this birthday would be… different."

No one said anything else. Mizu noticed it too and blushed, feeling bad for creating an awkward silence.

"It will be!" Krysta grinned, linking arms with Mizu.

"Yeah?" Mizu glanced up at Kysta, who smiled evilly.

"Well, here's the first part!" Jay grabbed her shoulders from behind. Mizu had only but a moment to look behind her until she fell into the water below.

"HEY! That wasn't fair!" Mizu pouted, spitting out water. She crossed her arms over her chest as she reached the shore.

"Maybe, but it was hilarious!" Van and Jay laughed, clutching their sides.

"You okay?" Amber tilted her head, handing her a towel.

"I'm fine, Amber," Mizu suddenly smirked, looking over at her other friends. "Because I'm gonna get them back!"

"Ahh! Run! Mizu has that evil look in her eye!" Serena screeched, running in a circle before falling in herself.

"So, who's the first one to face their doom?" Mizu asked as everyone scattered to opposite sides of the yard.

"Oh! I like doom!" Raven raised her hand up, happily. Everyone looks at her oddly. "What? I do."

"Then you shall be the first one to face your DOOM!" Mizu chased Raven to the edge of the dock and smiled as Raven splashed into the water. "I win!"

Then Kevin went in.

"Aww, man!"

After it was Megumi's turn.

"Wee!"

Soon Enti went down followed by Kris and Max.

"I blame you Enti," Max says flatly.

"It's your turn, Jay!" Mizu chased her around the lone tree that had grown in the middle of the lawn.

"You can't get me!" Jay yelped as she darted from one side of the yard to the other. With luck, Mizu managed to corner her at the edge of the dock and shoved her in.

"Take that," Mizu grinned as Jay reached the surface.

"Ah! Jay has fallen; all hope is lost!" Krysta yelled as she jumped in without Mizu chasing her.

"Go, go Mizu!" Amber cheered as Mizu chased Van around. Van ran fast but Mizu was able to cut him off from most of the yard. Mizu suddenly remembered there was one more person to be caught as Van fell in. Jamie.

"You ready to fall like your teammates?" Mizu asked him, getting into a running position.

"I can outrun you any day," he taunted, putting his hands behind his head. He yawned, making Mizu pout for his lack of caring.

"You'll be surprised," she took off, sprinting towards him. As the chase continued, Mizu heard her friends cheering for either Jamie or her. She quickened her pace, wanting to be the victor. Jamie could run pretty well, but he ran to the edge of the dock.

"Big mistake Jamie!" Mizu smiled happily. "Too bad this is the end."

"You should think twice before claiming victory," he said as he edged closer to the end of the dock.

"Your loss!" Mizu ran straight for him. "Victory is mine!"

She ran towards Jamie at full speed, not even realizing that it was his plan all along. Jamie stepped out of the way and let Mizu run off the dock. She looked over at Jamie who smiled devilishly but then grabbed his shirt to pull him down with her. She giggled as Jamie's expression went from triumphant to disbelief. **SPLASH!**

"Haha, no one wins!" Mizu said as she floated above the surface. Her (girl) friends shouted in glee as her (guy) friends groaned in defeat.

"Oi, Jamie!" Enti playfully whacked Jamie in the head.

"She cheated!" he pouted. Everyone looked at him and laughed hysterically.

"What now?" Jamie sighed.

"You look like a girl when you pout!" Jay and Krysta pointed at his face.

"Dude, they're right," Kris patted Jamie on the back sympathetically.

"Can you do it again? I wanna get a picture!" Serena said in a sing-song voice. Raven made the same face Jamie did but crossed her eyes. Everyone giggled at her imitation.

"What are you guys laughing about?" Amber ran over to everyone, towels in her hand.

"Thanks Amber," Van took his towel along with a couple of the other guys. Amber nodded happily, wanting to hear about the story.

"Jamie made the most hysterical face!" Max laughed, throwing Jamie's towel to him. "C'mon! Do it again for Amber!"

"No!" he pouted again, pulling the towel down from his face.

"Hahaha!" everyone laughed at his pout again.

"Okay you guys! Let's go eat pizza!" Mizu linked arms with Amber and Jamie.

"Yeah!"

--

_Later that night:_

"Bye you guys, thanks for coming over!" Mizu waved to Krysta, Jay, and Van as they left.

"Geez what a day!" Mizu stretched out on the couch. "But it sure was fun."

"Yeah," Kris smiled, looking up as his cousin from the floor. "It's going to be a good summer. I can tell."

"Summer vacation is the best," Mizu sighed as she picked up her plush toy of Sora from Kingdom Hearts. "No school, no homework, no worries! So, what do you want to do know? Watch something?"

"First I want to give you something," Kris took a box out from his pocket. "I know how much you love Kingdom Hearts and all so I got you this."

"Don't tell me you got another poster of Sora and Riku like everyone else did," Mizu stuck out her tongue. "Not that I didn't like them!"

"Oh my god, oh my god!" she repeated over and over as she hugged him. "Thank you so much!"

"You're…welcome!" he managed to speak. "Mi-zu…can't…breathe!"

"Oh sorry!" Mizu let go of him and looked at the box. "I can't believe you got me this crown necklace."

"Well, I wanted to give you the perfect gift, though I must say Jamie's gift was impressive," Kris smirked. Mizu blushed remembering Jamie had kissed her cheek as he gave her the Kingdom Hearts charm bracelet.

"Well, now they'll match!" she smiled as she put the necklace on.

"So, about that movie…what do you want to watch?" Kris asked as he searched through the DVD library.

"The Kingdom Hearts video I just bought!" Mizu happily bounced up and down on the couch.

"I know you have definitely watched that movie at least 100 times," Kris rolled his eyes. "How about a scary movie?"

"I don't want to watch a scary movie, they're scary!" Mizu shook her head in disapproval. "Kingdom Hearts Movie! Kingdom Hearts!"

"Oh, fine," Kris continued his search until he found the movie. He placed it into the DVD Player before he sat down next to Mizu.

"Yes!" Mizu jumped up to make a bag of popcorn. "KH II all the way!"

"Hey Mizu?" Kris asked as Mizu opened the microwave. "How much candy have you eaten, today?"

"Um, about 50 pieces, why?" Mizu tilted her head in confusion. Kris merely rolled his eyes, seeing Mizu hop up each time the popcorn went "pop".

"No wonder you're so hyper."

--

_Movie Ended_

"That video really made me want to play Kingdom Hearts, right Mi-" Kris looked over at her and found her sleeping on his shoulder. "What goes up must eventually come down."

He picked her up carefully and brought her to her bedroom. As he entered, he saw millions of posters of Sora, Riku and a new boy called Roxas. None of Kairi or Naminé though; Mizu said she didn't like either of them very much.

"_Jealous, much?" Kris had said one day._

"_I am not!" Mizu blushed, turning away from her cousin. "I just don't like the fact that they…well, mostly Kairi is portrayed as the damsel in distress. She should be strong willed and fight instead of waiting for Sora to come and save her. Namine; I still don't know a lot about her but still—"_

"_Alright," Kris shrugged his shoulder only to have Mizu throw a pillow at him. "Hey!"_

"Plushie Island" was what he called her bed. Hundred of Disney characters from Goofy to Chicken Little laid on her bed. Some fell off her bed as he set her down. Two special plush dolls sat on her shelf right above her bed. None other than Riku and Sora. He smiled at his cousin admiring her childishness. How she could sleep with all those plush toys under and around her, he would never know. He shrugged and laid down on the floor below her bed. Sleep caste its darkness upon the two.

--

~A deep burning sensation on her chest made her cry out in pain.~

~The chain glowed brightly illuminating the room.~

~A voice was heard. "It's okay. You'll be fine."~

~Her head shot back and her eyes widened as the pain reached its peak.~

~Her vision grew blurry and she lost consciousness.~

--

Mizu awoke to find herself facing a sea blue colored wall. She felt another presence next to her and smiled a little. _I love my plushies. _She wrapped her arms around a bunch of toys and nuzzled into the covers.

"Hm," she sighed, closing her eyes. They shifted a little under her hug, making her a little confused.

"Kairi," someone whispered.

"Kairi?" Mizu repeated, not understanding what exactly was going on. She opened her eyes and came face to face with a pair of two cerulean eyes.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

-00-

Author's Notes

Fixed up and ready to go. I hope it's a little better than before. Chapter two is gonna be a toughie. .:cracks knuckles:. Here we go! :]


	2. Rude Awakenings :Rewrite:

_**Journey to a New World**_

**EDIT: This is a rewrite! I cleaned up this chapter and plan on doing the rest to make this story better than ever. :D**

MizuHikari: With the original version of this, Sora's mom was _WAY _too okay with the fact that a girl had magically come into their house. Also, I hate Cloud's character in the original so I'm changing him entirely. He is very playful with Mizu which makes Sora a little aggravated and thinks she should be his girl friend but it needs to progress and I went way too fast. Also, I don't like how Mizu is shy about everything. She needs a backbone so yeah…I'm adding that in too. One major change too is that since all of the events in this chapter are in ONE day, I've decided to make more scenes to show how everything came to be. (i.e. relationships and hatred for certain characters) All in all, I hope this is a breath of fresh air from the original.  Enjoy.

For Disclaimer: Read Chapter 1.

-00-

Chapter 2: Rude Awakening

"_Hm," she sighed, closing her eyes. They shifted a little under her hug, making her a little confused._

"_Kairi," someone whispered._

"_Kairi?" Mizu repeated, not understanding what exactly was going on. She opened her eyes and came face to face with a pair of two cerulean eyes._

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Mizu screamed as she jumped from the bed. She pressed up against a wall, scared out of her wits.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the chestnut-haired boy shouted, doing the same thing the girl did only at the opposite side of the room. "Why-why-WHY are you in my house?"

"Your house?" Mizu talked back, still staying as far from the mysterious boy as she could.

_This is MY HOUSE!_

"This is…" she looked around the room, not seeing anything familiar. It was all sea blue with pictures and trinkets she'd never seen before. "…my house?"

_Where am I?_

"You were saying?" he frowned, moving away from the wall. "Now why are you in _my_ house?"

Mizu looked back at him, wanting to get a better idea of who she was talking to. Spiky chestnut hair, deep blue eyes--

"Are you 'Sora'?" she asked, examining him once more.

"Yeah; how'd you know who I was?" he scratched his head in confusion. "I mean, I don't think I've ever seen you before in my life." As Mizu began to answer, a flash of light went through her head.

"Uh…lucky guess?" she shrugged, slowly letting her guard down.

_What happened?_

"Oh, and your name is?" Sora walked towards her only to have her back up against the wall again.

"Mizu," she said quietly, still uneasy with the fact she was in a stranger's house.

"Cool," he smiled cutely as Mizu returned one sheepishly. "So, now that we have introduced each other, why are you in my house?"

"I don't know," Mizu looked around and then back at Sora. "This is really weird. One minute I was in my house with-"

Another bolt of light shot through her head.

"With who?" Sora asked again, seeing that his friend was having trouble.

"No…I don't know where I was, or if I was with anyone," Mizu put her hand to her forehead. "I can't remember if I was at my house even. And now I'm in your room."

"Hmm, that really doesn't make sense," Sora scratched his head again, looking away from her.

"Look, I'm not crazy," Mizu stated, seeing Sora's expression. "I'm just…really confused."

"Well, where do you live?" Sora walked over to the window and opened it to let in a cool breeze. He remained there for about a second before turning back towards Mizu.

"…" she didn't reply and merely stared down at the floor. "I live—"

FLASH.

"Do you live here on Destiny Islands? Or perhaps the Main Lands?" Sora tried to help her figure out her location. "Did you just move here maybe?"

"No," Mizu whispered. "I don't live anywhere."

"Nowhere?" Sora could not believe what she was saying. "You must know where your family is. Do you have parents? Friends? Relatives?"

FLASH. FLASH. FLASH.

"No," Mizu looked at her hands and the small creases in them. "Nobody."

Sora saw the girl in distress and smiled sympathetically.

"Well, you could stay here at my house for a while, if you want," Sora suggested as he began to open his drawers. "Maybe my mom would know how to figure all this out."

"You don't mind?" Mizu turned around as Sora changed his clothes. _Geez, give me a warning first. _"I don't know…I don't want to be a burden."

"It's fine, Mizu," he placed his hand on her shoulder. She turned around to find Sora in a white t-shirt with a silver key in the middle and red swimming trunks. "Don't worry about it, okay?"

The cute grin he gave her caused Mizu blush. "Okay."

"Well, I'm hungry. Let's go grab some breakfast," Sora said as he led her down to the kitchen.

--

Sora's mom was sitting at the table with her hair pulled up in a messy bun. She had a fuzzy yellow bathrobe with matching fluffy slippers. She looked like she could have been Sora's older sister.

"Good morning, Sora," she said without turning around. "How was your sleep? Have any nightmares?"

"Moooom," Sora groaned, feeling extremely embarrassed in front of Mizu. "You're embarrassing me."

"Oh Sora, honestly," she said as she turned around. "It's not like anyone is he-oh!"

Sora's mom merely stared at the girl who stood beside her son. "Sora, who is this?"

"Mom, this is Mizu," he smiled, happily taking Mizu's arm.

"Mizu?" his mom repeated, standing up from her chair. She looked from Mizu to Sora to Mizu again. "I tell you, you always bring people over without telling me. First Riku, then Tidus, and now Mizu. Is this going to become a habit?"

"Mooom!"

"Hello umm, Sora's mom," Mizu smiled. "I'm sorry to have intruded this early in the morning."

"Oh honey it's nothing to be sorry about," Sora's mom gave the same soft smile Sora had before. "I'm just a mess in the morning. So, did you just move here?"

As Mizu shook her head, Sora's mom turned towards her son. "Sora? Where exactly did she come from?"

"Now Mom, as weird as this is going to sound, she sort of—well," Sora struggled to look for the right words. "She kind of somehow ended up in my room—in my bed."

Sora's mom merely stood there dumbfounded for a moment. "In your _bed_?"

Mizu and Sora immediately blushed as his mother eyed both of them. "Well…"

"Mizu doesn't have a place to stay," Sora spoke up. "She doesn't know how she got here. So can she have the guest room?"

"Sora, you can't just make decisions about having people stay here," Sora's mother sighed. "What about your parents, Mizu? They must be worried about you missing. What's their number? I can call them to let them know you're safe."

"Ma'am, I don't have parents," Mizu solemnly said. "I don't have anyone here. Or anywhere."

"You must," Sora's mom said. "Did you run away and don't want to go back?"

"No," Mizu shook her head. "Please, believe me! I don't have anywhere to go or anyone to go to. I just found myself in Sora's room and that was it."

Sora's mom saw how upset Mizu was becoming and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I believe you. I just don't know what I should do with you. I should take you down to the police station to file a found person but if you say that you don't have anyone—"

"So, she can stay?" Sora pleaded.

"As long as you behave then yes," Sora's mom playfully wagged her finger at Sora. She turned back around to continue making breakfast. "Do you like pancakes, Mizu?"

"Yes ma'am," Mizu nodded.

"Please, call me Sonia," Sora's mother replied.

"Okay, Mrs. Sonia," Mizu chirped. She leaned over to Sora, whispering, "Your mom is really nice."

Sora nodded in agreement as he set out a couple of plates.

"Where is that brother of yours, Sora?" Sonia asked as she put a couple of pancakes on each plate.

"Still sleeping probably," Sora rolled his eyes, knowing how his brother could sleep through anything. He sat down at the table near Mizu. "Why?"

"He's been sleeping since 5:00 yesterday; he's gotten enough sleep for one day. Go fetch him Sora," she huffed. The telephone began to ring, frightening everyone.

"Oh telephone!" Sonia rushed into another room. "Help yourself."

"I'm up! Geez, you don't have to get Sora!" a spiky blond haired teen spoke up. He came down in grey sweatpants and a white sleeve-less. "Besides it's not like I need his annoying voice first thing in the morn—"

His eyes fell upon a girl sitting quietly by Sora. "Why is there a girl in our house?"

"This is Mizu," Sora introduced him to her. "Mizu, Cloud."

Cloud took a moment to stare at Mizu who felt like a specimen. She still smiled, not wanting to look as though she was ungrateful for them to let her stay.

"Sora, I didn't know you were good with the ladies," Cloud smirked, nudging Sora's shoulder.

"Quit being crude," Sora blushed, pushing Cloud's hand away. "Sorry Mizu; Cloud likes to be a weirdo—especially in the mornings."

"Ehh, whatever," Cloud yawned, pulling up a chair next to Mizu. Mizu smiled again at him before picking up a utensil to eat. Cloud merely watched her as she ate. Sora, on the other hand, was glaring daggers at his brother.

"Umm…Cloud, was it?" Mizu looked over at Sora's brother. "You're kind of making me uncomfortable with you sort of staring at me while I'm—"

"You're pretty," Cloud suddenly said, making Mizu blush fiercely. "How old are you?"

"Cloud!" Sora whined. "Leave her alone! Mom!"

"Can't hear you Sora; on the phone!" his mom called from the other room.

"I'm 16," Mizu answered, trying to look as though she hadn't cared that he had called her pretty. "How old are you, Cloud?"

"I'm 19 years old and available," Cloud smirked again. This time Sora had had enough.

"Cloud, knock it off now," Sora demanded. "You're being incredibly obnoxious."

"Woah, Sora," Cloud laughed. "Easy. I'm just messing with her."

"Sora, it's okay," Mizu turned towards her friend. "I can take care of myself. Besides, Cloud is just trying to upset you. That's what brothers do."

"You picked a real winner," Cloud said as he stood up. "Although, it's too bad you're already taken."

"Taken?" Mizu tilted her head to the side.

Cloud laughed, ruffling Mizu's hair, "You're too cute, you know that?"

He walked past her and placed his hands on Sora's shoulders. Mizu pouted at Cloud, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Sora, you didn't tell Mizu about Kairi?" Cloud asked. "Hmmm, how strange. I wonder why that is."

Sora didn't say anything, worrying Mizu.

"Kairi?" Mizu repeated, touching her lips. "She's the girl who—"

FLASH.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Mizu questioned, making Sora look up at her.

"Bingo!" Cloud nodded, letting go of Sora. "You're a smart one, aren't you? Keep this one around Sora. She seems to be a lot more down to earth than Kairi."

Sora stood up to face his brother with an awful glare. "You're starting to really piss me off, Cloud. Quit being a bastard to our guest and insulting my girlfriend."

Mizu looked down, feeling extremely bad for making an argument between the brothers. "Sora, please don't be angry. I didn't mean to cause a fight."

"No, it's not your fault," Sora said without turning towards Mizu. "It's this stupid guy's fault. Cloud, do you always have to be so inconsiderate when we have guests?"

"Me, the inconsiderate one?" Cloud pointed to himself. "You attacked me when I said Mizu was pretty. Why is that? Do you have a crush on her or are you just being possessive because you 'found her first'? Christ, is this about Kairi running off to me first?"

"That has nothing to do with this," Sora yelled back.

"What is it then?" Cloud asked, waiting for Sora's response. "What?!"

"Mizu," Sora said suddenly making her look up. "Cloud and I have to go and talk about something."

Mizu simply nodded, not wanting to make matters any more worse. Cloud walked out of the room first followed by Sora. Mizu wanted to call out to Sora, extending her arm but decided against it. _Where am I?_

"Okay, who wants more pancakes?" Sora's mom came back into the kitchen with a big smile on her face. Mizu didn't say anything, too upset by the previous events. "Dear, are you okay?"

Mizu nodded her head, holding herself tightly.

"Oh, and where did the boys go?" she looked around the room. "Upstairs maybe?"

"M-May I use the bathroom?" Mizu said slowly, not wanting the mother to hear her uneven voice.

"It's just down the hall," Sora's mom pointed. "To the left."

"Thank you," she walked quickly to the bathroom, a hand to her face. The moment she got in there, she locked the door and slumped to the floor. There she cried hard, pulling her knees close to her body. _I'm confused. I don't know who these people are. They're all strangers! Who am I?!_

Suddenly around her, the walls became blurry and fuzzy. _I don't want to be here anymore!_

The walls fell around her and everything became black.

--

"Mizu?" a soft gentle voice spoke. "Honey, are you okay?"

Mizu opened her eyes slowly, seeing but a silhouette above her. "Mom?"

--

"MIZU!" someone shouted but it was muffled by some sort of object. "Mizu! Are you okay?"

Mizu found herself on the cold tile floor in a bathroom. "Huh?"

"Mizu!"

"Stop yelling, Sora!" another voice said. "Mizu?"

Mizu looked around to find the door and opened it. There stood Sora, Cloud and their mother. Sora immediately pushed his way through and wrapped his arms around his friend. Mizu didn't know what to say as she stared up at the ceiling light. _Why can't I remember anything?_

"Sora, stop smothering her," Cloud said, poking Sora's head. "She needs room to breathe."

"Cloud," Sora growled. Mizu could feel a tension growing between them.

"Please," she spoke softly. Both of the brothers looked at her. A tear leaked down as she said, "Please don't fight!"

--

Mizu sat in silence at the table while Sora's mother spoke to her kids in the other room.

"…now that we have a guest under our house," she stated, as they came out from the other room. "Sora, why don't you show Mizu around Destiny Islands tomorrow? I'll go shopping for some new clothes for her."

"No, you don't need to do that!" Mizu blurted out loud.

"I won't have you running around in your pajamas while you're staying with us," she smiled, placing a hand on Mizu's shoulder. "It's fine, dear."

"Okay," Mizu nodded.

--

Mizu followed Sora upstairs in silence. _I must look like a jerk for causing an argument and then fainting in their bathroom. What am I doing?_

"Mizu, this is your room," Sora opened the door to the guest room. "I guess since you're already in your paja—"

"I'm sorry," Mizu said as she bowed her head. "I'm sorry you got in trouble and I'm making it so hard for you all. If you don't want me here, I'm okay with that. It's just enough you gave me something to eat but you're letting a total stranger in your house and I don't know anything. I don't want to make you have to take care of me or anything. I really like you because you've all been so nice. It's not fair to you or your mother or Cloud and I should go—"

"Mizu," Sora spoke up, stopping her. Mizu held her mouth with a hand. He pulled her into a tight embrace. Mizu stood there, not having any idea on what to do. _Why? Why do I feel so empty?_

"Don't say that," Sora whispered, frightening Mizu. "I don't care how much trouble you cause so long as you're happy. Please don't say that you don't know anything. It's me. I don't know anything. I don't know what I was thinking. You're something special and I don't mean about this morning. You can stand up for yourself and don't need someone to do it for you. But, nonetheless, I want—I will take care of you no matter what. You're my friend now, Mizu."

"Heh, don't go all mushy on me," Mizu giggled, feeling tears sliding down her cheeks. "You're my friend too Sora."

--

Mizu came downstairs with a happier demeanor to find that Cloud was watching some TV show. "Good morning, Cloud."

"Good morning cutie," Cloud laughed, seeing Mizu's cheeks turn red. "Do you have any sisters by the way?"

Mizu glared at him, not liking what he was hinting at. "Anyway, I'm sorry for getting you in trouble yesterday. And sort of—falling asleep in the bathroom."

"Meh, I didn't really care," Cloud waved his hand. "Sora was going all crazy about the fact you wouldn't answer when he kept yelling 'Mizu! Mizu!' over and over again."

"Oh," Mizu walked over to where Cloud was. "I see."

"Don't get me wrong, I was worried too but I wasn't having a heart attack," Cloud said, looking over at Mizu. "He-Hey, watch out for tha—"

A cord ran across the room, causing Mizu to trip over it. Cloud ran over to attempt to stop her but to no avail. She had landed right on top of him with a thud.

"Oww," she lifted herself up off Cloud's chest. "Huh?"

"Now, what's wrong with this picture?" Cloud smirked devilishly. Mizu couldn't react in time and heard someone clear their throat. Mizu and Cloud looked up to find Sora with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked about ready to whack Cloud upside the head.

"Hiya So-chan," Cloud laughed as Mizu jumped up from her position. "She just couldn't keep her hands off. Sorry buddy."

"Very funny," Sora grumbled as he turned around. "Breakfast is ready."

--

"Really, Sora!" Mizu clasped her hands together. "I swear, Cloud didn't do anything. He was trying to stop me from tripping over a wire in your living room that I didn't see."

"Alright," Sora huffed as he pointed a fork to his brother. "But I'm keeping my eye on you, Cloud."

"Whatever," Cloud replied, shrugging his shoulders. "I'll see you guys later. Have fun little Mimi-chan with So-chan. Don't be gone too long."

"Mimi-chan?" Mizu scowled at the nickname. "Alrighty, Cloudy-kun."

Cloud laughed as he left the room, making Mizu a little aggravated that he took no offense to the ridiculous name.

"Your brother sure is a strange one," Mizu shook her head in confusion.

"Tell me about it," Sora smiled as he put his chin on his hand.

--

"Here you are," Sora pulled out a bag of clothes from the closet. "My mom went shopping yesterday when you were—sleeping. So, here you go!"

"Your mom is so nice," Mizu said as she took the bag. "I'll definitely pay you back. Thanks again."

As she closed the door, she exhaled in happiness. _Even though I still don't know them very well, I think I can get used to this._

She came out of "her" room wearing a white sleeveless with a lime green tank top. She wore beige capri's with black and silver sneakers. Smiling happily, she waited near Sora's door. Sora opened his door to find his friend directly in front of him.

"Uhh—hi?" Sora chuckled nervously as he pulled his red t-shirt all the way down. "You know, you could have waited downstairs for me."

"Well, I'm just excited that I get to go see your other friends, I guess," Mizu said. "We are going to visit your friends, right?"

"Of course," Sora smiled as he walked down the stairs. "We'll all go down to the beach together later too."

"The beach?" Mizu questioned as Sora put on his yellow sneakers. "Where is that?"

"It's another island across from here," Sora explained. "You'll see once you get there okay?"

"So, who are we visiting first?" Mizu asked, watching Sora lock the front door.

"His name is—"

"Riku," Mizu suddenly said.

FLASH.

"Yeah," Sora looked over at her with a curious expression. "How'd you know that?"

"Uhh, lucky guess?" Mizu shrugged. Sora merely smiled, putting his hands behind his head. "Well, he's my best friend. He's seventeen, and he's really good at fighting."

"Really?" Mizu's eyes glowed with fascination. "Is he cool?"

"Heh, I guess," Sora could imagine Riku with his famous smirk. He then took Mizu's hand in his saying, "So, let's go!"

--

Across town, Cloud and his friend Leon were sitting on Leon's porch. Cloud took a gulp of his soda and sighed deeply. Leon looked over at his friend, seeing him in a sort of a bind.

"How come you look like you're in such 'deep' thought?" Leon asked as he moved his bangs from his eyes.

"A girl," Cloud muttered, perplexed about the prior events. "My brother brought this girl into our house yesterday. She's pretty cute but she doesn't even seem interested. This is really making me frustrated."

"Why?" Leon chuckled but saw Cloud's upset expression. "Are you upset that she wasn't head of heels the moment she saw you? Geez, Cloud, you really are something."

"That's not funny, Leon!" Cloud growled, standing up as he did. "She just—"

An image of his friend from long ago went through his head. She had long black hair and burgundy colored eyes.

"—reminds me of her," Cloud finished his sentence, closing his eyes. _Tifa._

-00-

Author's Notes

I REALLY changed Cloud's character, I hope for the better. I'm actually glad; I didn't like the fact that Cloud was just an egotistical bastard with no reason for it. Yup, I added Tifa in so readers could understand why Cloud took interest in Mizu in the first place.

Once again, I hope it is a breath of fresh air than my original. Although I loved it, there is always room for improvement. Feel free to leave comments on things I can improve on. :)

Oh yes, I read in someone's comments that they didn't understand why Mizu was forgetting all the things she used to know. It's really kind of a secret. I can tell you this; it is mostly because she's afraid that all this is real. Her brain is sort of shutting off things (i.e. memories) so she can understand (sort of) and not be even more confused than she already is. That makes sense right?


	3. My Friends

_**Journey to a New World**_

**EDIT: This is a rewrite! I cleaned up this chapter and plan on doing the rest to make this story better than ever. :D**

Once again, there are major clean-ups in some of the characters. In the original, there is no reason Kairi should be angry with Mizu except for the fact that she suspects Sora is falling for her. Other than that, there is little foundation. I will be removing the other chapters now since they no longer make sense. The storyline will take much longer to progress than the original. Alrighty, to work!

For Disclaimer: Read Chapter 1.

--

Chapter Three: My Friends

"Riku, you home?" Sora called out as he opened the door. He and Mizu stepped into a large hallway that had a small table on the left. There was a little note, car keys and a cell phone. Mizu looked around the big house, wondering what kind of person this '"Riku" was. A family portrait of two silver-haired men and a blond-haired woman hung on the wall above the large TV.

"Hello?" Sora began to explore the kitchen while Mizu continued to stare at the picture. The young man in the photograph had beautiful emerald green eyes that felt as though they were looking right through her.

"What's up, Sora?" the boy in the picture came down the stairs, looking for his friend. However, it was Mizu who he found at the bottom of his stairs. "Oh! You're not Sora. What's your name?"

The teenager wore a dark grey sleeve-less with a white short sleeved jacket over it. He had deep blue swimming trunks on and a silver chain around his neck and wrist. Mizu's face flushed as he gave a gentle smile. "Umm—My n-name is—"

"Hey Riku! I see you've already met my friend," Sora said delightfully as he came from out of the kitchen. "This is Mizu. She's staying over at my house since she doesn't have a place to go. Mizu, this is Riku."

"Hi Riku," Mizu said sheepishly. "It's nice to meet you. Sora told me a lot about you."

"Has he?" Riku looked over at Sora who blushed slightly. "So, you don't have anywhere to stay?"

"I just _got _here yesterday," Mizu shrugged, fidgeting with her fingers. "I don't really know how to explain it. Sora?"

"One minute I'm sleeping and the next she's in my room with me," Sora said bluntly. Riku lifted an eyebrow a little suspicious of what Sora meant.

"Not in that way," Sora shook his head, seeing Riku smirk slowly. "So, I wanted to show her around Destiny Islands and meet all of our friends."

"Sora said he wanted me to meet you first because you're his best friend," Mizu said not realizing that Sora didn't want Riku to know.

"Sora, I'm touched you care about me that much," Riku teased, pulling Sora into a strong embrace.

"GAH! RIKU!" Sora flailed his arms, trying to break free. "The real reason we came here first was just because you're closer than everyone else is, is all! Lemme go!"

Mizu giggled at the sight of the two long-time friends messing with each other. _This is nice. Maybe I can get used to this. They're like brothers._

"So, we're heading over to Kairi's now," Sora breathed as Riku let go of him. "Would you like to come with us? We were going to head on over to the beach a little later."

"Sounds good to me," Riku said as he put his sneakers on. "I've been wanting to get out of this house for hours. Alright; let's head on out."

[A.N. Cue Final Fantasy X: Besaid Music XD]

They walked down the street, talking about random topics. Mizu really couldn't put an input on anything so she walked behind them a little. Although she was happy that she was making friends, she felt something nagging her. _Why can't I remember anything? I remember pain—_

Flash.

"There it is again," she said to herself, slowing her pace. "What is that?"

"So Sora," Riku whispered, looking behind him before continuing.

"Hm?" he looked over at his friend.

"She's cute," Riku smirked, brushing his bangs away from his vision.

"Not you too!" Sora groaned, rolling his eyes as he did. "You sound exactly like Cloud. God, you're so immature sometimes, you know that?"

"What?" Riku shrugged his shoulders. "I'm complimenting her. Why; you don't think she's pretty?"

"I think she's pretty but I don't go saying it making her uncomfortable," Sora shot back. "You should have seen Cloud! He was all over her…literally. I tell you, he seriously needs a girlfriend."

"Alright, alright. No need to get all defensive," Riku smiled softly. He took a deep breath before continuing, "So, how are you and Kairi doing nowadays?"

"Good," Sora said curtly. "Although, I hope she's not too mad about yesterday."

"What happened yesterday?" Riku asked curisouly. "Oh! Mizu came here. I'm guessing you and Kairi had plans to do something."

Sora nodded. "I called her and she said it was okay but she definitely didn't sound it."

"Well, hopefully Kairi won't be too mad when she finds out you're hanging out with another girl," Riku said making Sora a little nervous.

"Do you actually think Kairi would act like that?" Sora whispered, afraid for the worst.

"You never know with girls," Riku stated but then saw how Sora's expression went to fear. "But—you hang out with Selphie so Kairi will probably be fine with it. Sorry, Sora. Kairi deserves a lot more credit than I'm giving her."

"Yeah, okay," Sora attempted to smile but still was a little cautious. "Hey, where did Mizu go?"

They turned around to find Mizu kneeling down by someone's garden. She just smiled at them, loving their colors and scent. They were a light pink with a darker hue around the edges of the petals. In the middle of each flower was a sunshine yellow color. "I've never seen flowers like this before in my life."

"Mizu?" Sora bent down to catch her attention. "Oh! The flowers; they're called Kingdom. I heard they only grow here in Destiny Islands. That's probably why you've never seen them."

Mizu nodded and stood back up to look over at Riku, who was waiting for them to catch up with him. Sora pointed over to a house down the street and beckoned her to follow.

"That's Kairi's house," Riku thumbed it, putting his other hand on his hip. "She's the mayor's daughter so they've got to have the biggest house. I tell you; they're always hosting the biggest parties on this side of the world."

Sora stuck his tongue out at Riku before walking forward. "You're mean today Riku. You said you loved going to all those awesome parties with everyone."

Mizu giggled, watching the two of them bicker. As they approached the house, Mizu saw a girl on her porch, rocking on a swing gently. Her auburn red hair was in beautiful contrast to her slightly tan skin. She had a white and purple sundress on with matching shoes.

"Ohhh," Mizu gaped at the image in front of her. "She's beautiful, Sora."

Sora whipped over to look at Mizu while Riku snickered. Mizu noticed them eyeing her weirdly and said, "What? She is. I'm surprised you didn't even describe her to me. You did with Riku."

"Well—" Sora stammered, realizing he had gotten caught. "T-that's because—Riku's a boy and—it's awkward t-to describe K-Kairi since—well y-you know—"

Mizu shook her head which made Riku laugh even more.

"Shut up, Ri!" Sora snapped, causing Mizu and Riku to both stop. "I'm sorry. It's just embarrassing to talk about my 'love life'. I didn't mean to yell."

"Meh, whatever," Riku brushed it off. "It's my fault too. I just like to tease you, So-chan."

--

"So, this is the 'things came up'," Kairi smiled as they reached her house. "It's so nice to meet you. My name is Kairi and yours is?"

"I'm Mizu," she returned the smile, then noticing how Sora's hand found its way around Kairi's. "But, I don't understand the thing about 'things came up'; Sora?"

"Oh," Sora lowered his head in embarrassment. "Well, you know…when you sort of fainted in my house. I sort of had plans with Kairi but you were in trouble so I called her to cancel it."

Mizu felt a sudden guilt in the pit of her stomach. She replied sadly, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make such an ordeal. Why didn't you tell me about it earlier?"

Sora attempted to speak but Kairi cut in saying, "It's no big deal. It was just a silly date to go see a movie. Hey! Maybe we can all see it this weekend or something."

"Really?" Mizu exclaimed, her eyes shining in happiness. Riku chuckled at the girl's childish behavior and placed a hand on top of her head. Mizu looked up at her friend and tilted her head to a side in confusion.

"I've never seen someone so eager to go see a movie," Riku said as he ruffled Mizu's hair. "What if it's a really scary one? Would you want to go see it then?"

"Oh, Riku," Kairi pouted, letting go of Sora's hand. She put her arms on Mizu's shoulders. "Don't scare her. Besides, we were going to go see a comedy, you doof."

"Comedies are boring," Riku sighed. Kairi was about to continue the little argument when Sora cut in saying, "Kairi; we were going to head on over to the beach to meet the rest of our friends. Do you want to come?"

"As much as I would like to, I've got to attend to other things first," Kairi bowed her head in sadness. "Maybe next time."

"Well, is there anything I could help with?" Sora blurted out before thinking.

"Sora," Mizu and Riku said at the same time. However, their words were not heard by the brunet.

"Would you?" Kairi's eyes brightened. "That'd be great Sora."

Sora smiled at his girlfriend before turning to his other friends to say, "I'll meet you guys there, okay?"

"But—" Mizu started but Kairi and Sora were already inside, leaving Riku and Mizu out on the porch.

"Sora can be such a scatter brain," Riku huffed as he walked down the stairs. "We should probably start heading on over to the beach now since it's already around one."

Mizu nodded, giving the door one last look. "So, Kairi is the mayor's daughter."

"Hmm?" Riku glanced at Mizu. "Yep; she came here when we were around five years old. We were all really close until we got a little older. Don't get me wrong, I like Kairi but she was sometimes just too…Kairi for me. Anyways, Sora and Kairi became closer than ever and then—Presto!—They're going out."

Mizu took a moment to process the information before saying, "What do you mean by 'being too Kairi'?"

"I don't really know," he said as he put his hands in his pockets. "Too perfect; too nice. She's more like a sister to me than someone I would have a love interest in, I guess."

"Oh," Mizu thought deeply about everything he said. There was a long interval of silence which made both of them embarrassed. It remained until they got to the local beach that looked out to another island. The island looked smaller but Mizu could just see a dock with tiny boats already there. An image of three familiar children flashed through her mind and her vision became fuzzy. _That island—it's important—_

FLASH.

"Mizu?"

"Is that where we are going?" Mizu asked, looking over at Riku. He nodded and pointed over to a wooden boat with two oars in it.

Mizu walked over to take an oar and stopped suddenly. "These boats—"

"_Riku's Boat! And Kairi's!"*_

FLASH.

"These boats look a little scary," Mizu continued to move to the boat. "Are they sturdy enough to hold two people?"

"I think so," Riku smiled, handing her an oar. "We'll just have to find out now, won't we?"

"I guess so," Mizu laughed nervously. "Away we go!"

--

Author's Notes

*From Kingdom Hearts. During the Destiny Island's Departure.

Once again, I would like to remind everyone that I will be removing the other chapters since they no longer make sense. They will appear again somewhere along the way (of course, cleaned up). Thank you for your patience.


	4. Island Stories

_**Journey to a New World**_

**EDIT: This is a rewrite! I cleaned up this chapter and plan on doing the rest to make this story better than ever. :D**

**Includes: **A LOT of talking and sort of getting the basics on all the characters. I tried not to make it a filler chapter but it may seem that way. -_-;

For Disclaimer: Read Chapter 1.

-00-

Chapter Four: Island Stories

The island was gorgeous with its tropical trees and vibrant colors. Exotic birds chirped and called as they flew through the sky. There was a little waterfall and a small shack that children probably stayed in to flee from the sun. Mizu gazed in awe as her eyes wandered to the biggest trees she'd ever seen. They had little walkways and ladders for children to climb up their massive trunks. Riku stepped out of the boat first to tie it to the small dock. There were already a couple of others, rocking with the waves.

"Well, I guess it can't hold more than two people," Riku sighed as he aired out his white t-shirt. The boat had become unstable as they rowed and Mizu ended up letting go of her oar. Riku had fallen in, in an attempt to grab the paddle from the water.

"I'm sorry again," Mizu said as she blushed as she got out extra carefully. "But—I could have gone in and gotten it, you know."

"It's not a big deal," Riku sent her a reassuring grin. "Besides, I got cooled off in the process."

Mizu nodded and looked over at the boats gently swaying with the waves.

"Riku!" someone shouted from behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to find a girl running towards them. She was also accompanied by three boys who were walking over. Mizu saw Riku smile as he rolled his eyes at the girl. The new girl had brown hair that flipped up on each side of her head and in the back. Her emerald green eyes almost matched those Riku had. She wore a yellow dress that looked like it was made of jean material with a jump rope tied to one of the belt loops. She came up to Mizu, grinning widely.

"Wow, it's not often we get new people here," the girl said as she put her hand out for Mizu to shake. "My name is Selphie! This is Tidus, Wakka and Roxas."

"Nice to meet 'cha," the Tidus boy said. He had dirty blond hair with a sort of spikiness that resembled Sora's as well as his similar colored blue eyes. He wore a yellow t-shirt with white sleeves and had shorts where one pant leg was longer than the other.

"What's happenin'?" the one named Wakka grinned. He, on the other hand, had fiery orange hair that swooped up in the front and a blue bandana on his forehead. He wore a beige sleeve-less with two matching blue arm bands. His swimming trunks were a lighter orange with dark blue Xs at the bottom. In his hands was some sort of ball with small bumps on the surface.

The third boy looked extremely similar to Sora. He merely waved, before turning away. This boy had spiky blond hair that sort of swooped over to the right. He had a white t-shirt with a black and white checkered middle. He had a black and white checkered wristband as well and two finger bands. His swim shorts were sort of beige with black bottoms and a fancy looking X on the bottom right of his pant leg.

"Everyone, this is Mizu," Riku said, pointing to her. "She just gothere yesterday. She lives with Sora since she doesn't have anyone here."

"You live with Sora?" Selphie asked, tilting her head in confusion. Mizu nodded uneasily.

"I sort of lost my memory of where I'm from and ended up in Sora's room," Mizu tried to explain as best as she could. "So, they let me stay which I am extremely grateful for."

"Woah! She's like a foreigner or something?" Wakka questioned as he placed the weird ball on the sand. "Foreigners barely ever visit here."

"Well, there is the Heart festival at the end of the each summer," Tidus explained. "You know, where all those tourists come to swim in the ocean that's supposed to be so warm and perfect it relaxes your mind and heart before work and school starts again."

"I've never heard of this festival," Mizu shook her head. "But it sounds really nice. Maybe I can go to the festival to see if I know anyone when they come. That is, if I'm still here."

"Of course!" Selphie giggled as she hugged Mizu's arm. "We'll go together. All of us, okay?"

"So, why did you lose your memory?" the Roxas kid suddenly said. Mizu looked at him and the smile disappeared from her face. This boy seemed very annoyed at her for some reason.

"W-well; like I said before, I don't know," Mizu snapped lightly. "I can't remember anything except I found myself in Sora's room."

Roxas grunted as he shifted his shoulders. "Whatever."

"No one really knows what exactly happened," Riku said, crossing his arms over his chest. "If Sora were here, it'd make a lot more sense since he found her first. But like him, being a scatterbrain and all, he stayed to help Kairi when he was supposed to show Mizu around."

"You really don't like Kairi, do you?" Tidus sighed, making Mizu look over at Riku in confusion. _He had just spoken so fondly of her—was he lying to make me feel better?_

"I never said that," Riku fought back, cheeks flaring up with red. "You're annoying, Tidus."

With that, Riku began to walk down the beach when Mizu attempted to follow. Selphie took a step forward, wanting to stop Mizu. She knew that Riku tended to get moody when Sora wasn't here to keep it in balance.

"Mizu, could you wait here?" Riku said without turning around. "I gotta go check on something. I won't be long. Go, have fun with Selphie and the others."

"Oh—" Mizu stopped abruptly. "Okay. Then, I'll wait for you."

Riku smiled before leaving them. Mizu felt guilt at the bottom of her stomach as Riku disappeared from her vision. As the other boys left in a different direction, Selphie put her hand on Mizu's back. Mizu looked over at her new friend who smiled reassuringly.

"Hey, let's go up and talk," Selphie said, pointing to one of the little tree houses. "The boys can entertain themselves with the Blitzball."

"Okay."

--

"So, how have you been since you moved here?" Selphie questioned, taking off her sandals. "It's only been a day but I'm sure you've been through a bit since you lost your memory."

"Pretty good," Mizu smiled; glad she could talk to someone who was like her. _A girl. _"Although, Sora and Cloud got in a fight because he was saying weird things to me."

"Cloud?" Selphie squealed, frightening Mizu. "You met Cloud? Isn't he dreamy? You're so lucky you get to live with them. Cloud is so handsome and Sora is absolutely adorable. Lucky! Lucky!"

"Heh, I guess," Mizu laughed with her. "They are really nice especially their mom. She was okay with a random girl just appearing in their house. I'm glad that I had ended up there instead or some creepy place where the people were mean."

"Sonia is so laidback it's amazing," Sephie smiled happily, brushing her bangs from her eyes. "I can see where Sora gets his calm nature."

Mizu meekly smiled, hearing Sora's name. _It wasn't really nice for him to just leave and hang out with his girlfriend when he had already promised to show me around. But—Kairi is his girlfriend so I guess it makes sense. Riku must be angry too for getting a clueless girl like me dumped on him._

"So, Sora was supposed to show you around but forgot and made Riku," Selphie put her chin on her hand. "I bet Riku's brooding over on the other side of the island about it. He always gets like this when Sora decides to hang out with Kairi rather than him. I tell you, he's so needy sometimes."

"Does Riku really not like Kairi?" Mizu asked, remembering how nicely he spoke about her before. "It's been sort of confusing me."

"Well," Selphie thought about what she was going to say. "Sora and Riku were really—and I mean REALLY—close when we were all little. They were literally like brothers. Riku was the protective one who sort of took Sora under his wing. Then Kairi came to the islands. It was fine at first. It became the three of them always, doing everything together. But you know how it goes when people grow up. Kairi started to develop feelings for Sora while Riku continued to try as though nothing changed. So, it became a competition for Sora's feelings in a way. But naturally, Sora returned Kairi's. Sora and Riku are still tight and all but lately I've seen Riku by himself more and more."

Mizu suddenly felt really bad for prying into Riku's life. "I see."

"But Riku's a strong guy," Selphie chirped seeing how Mizu's expression lowered. "Sora just needs to realize that he can't always go off with Kairi or he won't really have any more friends—Jeez, I still sound so dismal."

"No," Mizu grinned, standing up. "I know what you mean. Let's go find him and keep him company, shall we?"

"Yeah!" Selphie agreed as she bounced up from the wooden floor. "That sounds good to me."

--

"Damnit Sora!" Riku threw a stone into the ocean and watched as it skipped a few times. "You're really starting to make me feel like crap."

Riku continued to throw rocks as he walked along the beach. He came upon the familiar white sail that danced in the wind. _We were supposed to finish building this raft and explore but then—_

"You went with Kairi and decided to call it quits," Riku kicked the sand roughly. "And now, you totally forgot another friend you just met yesterday."

Riku closed his eyes to relax and sat down on the almost completed raft. That new girl sure was a breath of fresh air. Sure she seemed a little dumb at times because she couldn't remember where she was from but she was different from other girls he knew. Something about her was different from everyone he had ever met. _Maybe she's from—_

"Riku!" a voice called from behind. He turned to find Mizu running towards him, followed closely by Selphie. He rolled his eyes but nonetheless smiled at the girl's childishness. She ran into him, holding him tightly.

"Whatever happens, you'll always be my friend!" Mizu cried out, shutting her eyes tightly. Riku had no idea what she was talking about but smiled down at her anyway. Selphie nodded in agreement, sending Riku a cheeky grin.

_I have got to stop telling Selphie secrets._

-00-

Author's Notes

So, I changed Roxas' character as well. He doesn't seem to like Mizu in any way. I wanted to have Selphie to also have a better character and not always be so happy and bubbly.

This will probably be my last chapter for August and maybe even September because I am going to college in two days. Wish me luck and feel free to write reviews of how I can improve. Thank you. :D


	5. Sunset Melt

_**Journey to a New World**_

**Author's Quick Note (8/30/09): **I would have had this up sooner (meaning on the day I'm writing this) but the Wi-Fi at college is really bad and I don't have an Ethernet cable (yet). College; good stuff. Yeah; enjoy this chapter for now. I hoped to have more up by now but having to string the new chapter 2 to the original chapter 3 is pretty freaking hard because I went so darned fast in the first version of this story. (Yeah, I don't understand either) X_x

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters created by Disney and SquareSoft/Enix. However I do own a bunch of KH merchandise which I spend lots of my hard earned money on. I also own all the characters you've never heard of (sort of).

This story is about my OC Mizu finding herself in an unknown but familiar world.

-00-

Chapter 5: Sunset Melt

Sora stood out on the porch looking out towards the ocean. He could almost see the small island he used to spend all his time at when he was a child. He had some great times going exploring with Riku and Kairi. _Kairi… _He blushed at the idea how cute she was when she was younger and how she'd grown over the years. Although the topic of "dating" was still awkward to him, he still loved to be with Kairi. Something was nagging him though as he stared out at sea.

"_I'll show you around tomorrow, okay?"_

Sora mentally smacked his forehead. How could he be so forgetful? How did that manage to slip by him? Mizu probably felt like he didn't care about her. And Riku probably thought he didn't give a damn for him. But he did.

"Sora?" Kairi asked, breaking Sora from his train of thought. Sora turned around to find Kairi in a lilac colored sundress and his heart skipped a beat. She was beautiful. "Hey, don't stare at me. You're making me blush!"

Sora chuckled, moving a strand of her pinkish-red hair from her cheek. She took his hand and held it tightly but tenderly. He looked down at her, giving her a smile. She returned it before closing her eyes and tilting her head up towards him. Sora flinched, seeing Kairi's lips so close to his own. He placed a quick peck on her cheek before laughing uneasily. Kairi opened her eyes and looked at her boyfriend in confusion.

"Why don't we start heading on over there? They must be waiting for us," Sora said half-heartedly. Kairi was about to open her mouth when Sora gave her one of his famous beams. She couldn't stay mad at him when he gave off such a beautiful sight.

--

"What are you doing here?" Mizu blurted out as she saw who stepped off the boat. Selphie blushed fiercely seeing it was Cloud. The boys sighed, watching as Selphie swooned over Sora's older brother.

"What kind of 'hello' is that for your best friend?" Cloud faked a whine. "I'm hurt Mizu."

"Oh alright," Mizu huffed in submission. She cleared her throat, and spoke, "Hello, Cloud; my _best friend_."

"Well—Mom wanted to know where you guys were," Cloud said, chuckling at Mizu's greeting. "I figured you'd be here since its where all you kids come during the day."

"Kids?" Tidus growled. "I'll have you know I'm 17!"

Cloud smirked, liking how it got them in such a fuss. "Huh? So you say."

"Cloud," Mizu protested. "Did you come here just to make fights? You know where I am so I guess you can go home now, right?"

"Where's the shrimp?" Cloud said as he looked over Mizu and the others. "Isn't he with you?"

"He's not here," Riku said as he walked over to Cloud from the rest of the boys.

"Riku, how've you been?" Cloud said all too nicely. "I haven't seen you over since Kairi and Sora hooked up."

Riku crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at Cloud.

"Oh right," Cloud chuckled lightly. "He's completely forgotten about you. It must feel pretty crappy, huh?"

"Cloud, stop it," Mizu demanded, seeing Riku's eyes become a darker green. "You're not being very nice to everyone. Am I going to have to tell Mrs. Sonia that you've been bullying my friends?"

"Alright," Cloud faked a pout. He slinked over to Mizu and hugged her tightly from behind. "I'll be a good boy for Mizu."

"GAH!"

Everyone was a little thrown back by Cloud's move. Tidus and Wakka merely gaped in confusion. Riku looked a bit aggravated while Roxas looked completely annoyed with it. Selphie, on the other hand, looked heartbroken but smiling nonetheless.

"Let go of me, you big bully!" Mizu struggled to break free from his embrace. Cloud shook his head, wrapping his arms tighter around her arms and waist.

"Cloud!" an angry voice shouted from behind them. Mizu and Cloud glanced over to the caller to find it was Sora with a paddle in his hand.

"Hello there, little brother," Cloud chuckled, letting go of Mizu. "Heh—Mizu got cold so I gave her a hug to keep her warm."

Sora sighed in defeat. "Whatever you say, Cloud."

Mizu smiled, relieved to see that Sora had put away the oar. She was about to hug him when she saw Kairi's forlorn look. "Kairi, are you okay? You don't look to well."

"I'm FINE!" she snapped but then drew back. "I'm sorry. I'm not feeling very well."

Mizu watched as Sora tried to take Kairi's hand but she moved away from him. Although she didn't really know what was going on between them, she knew it wasn't something good.

"It's about time you got here!" Selphie huffed, blowing her cheeks out as she did. "Riku's been moody all day since you've been gone."

"Shut up Selphie!" Riku growled, bopping her on the head.

"Oww! You know, it's rude to hit a lady!" Selphie whined as she hid behind Wakka.

Mizu glanced quickly to see that Kairi still looked deeply upset. "Kai—"

"Let's head on over to Paupo Haven," Wakka declared, pulling Selphie from behind him. Everyone started to walk over to the other island when Cloud pulled her aside.

"So how have you been?" he smiled; actually nicely.

"They're all really nice," Mizu nodded, pointing over to one of the boys. "Do you know him?"

"Roxas? Yeah, he's Sora and my cousin," Cloud chuckled as he watched Roxas trip on the wooden walk-way. "Why? Got a crush on him?"

"No!" Mizu pouted. "He's your cousin? Why didn't you guys tell me before?"

"Well," Cloud said. "He and Sora don't really get along. They're totally different people even though they look kind of the same. Sora tries to talk to Roxas but he just shrugs it off. Roxas is a mystery to everyone."

"I see. He wasn't very nice to me either."

"Don't take it personally. Anyway, seeing as you're part of the _family_," Cloud smirked as he placed a hand on Mizu's shoulder. "I figured you should know about our relationships with each other."

"CLOUD!" Sora huffed looking over at the two. Mizu laughed uneasily moving away from his brother.

"He was just telling me a secret," Mizu waved reassuringly. She turned over to Cloud and put her hand out to follow. "Aren't you coming?"

"As much as I would love to spend time with you, I'll let you get to your little friends," he smirked making her a little confused. Cloud pointed to Sora who was standing on the walkway and waiting. "Sora doesn't look too happy with me monopolizing all of your time."

Mizu shrugged, and decided to call it a day. "Alright; but no fighting when we get home, promise?"

"Okay, it's a promise," Cloud nodded before getting into his boat. As he rowed away, Mizu shook her head in confusion and went to meet the rest of her friends.

As she opened the seaside shack to the outside, she noticed how the glare faded from Sora's face. He sighed, "I thought Cloud was trying to make you go home with him."

Mizu was a little shocked and angered by the statement. _I _can _stand up for myself, you know._ Nonetheless, she merely smiled and shook her head.

"Nope. Besides, you really can only fit one person in those boats," she said as she remembered the previous event with Riku.

--

Mizu watched from afar as Sora walked Kairi to her door. She felt bad that she didn't know the way to get home and was making the interaction with Kairi and Sora awkward. Still she said she'd wait a ways down the road so they wouldn't feel as though she was watching.

"How long is that girl planning to stay, Sora?" Kairi asked, glancing at Mizu.

"Well, since she doesn't really remember anything about her family or where she's from, I don't know if she should leave yet," Sora replied.

"It's not your responsibility to care for some person who claims to have lost her memory," Kairi insisted. "You don't even know who she really is."

"Kairi, I have to care for her," Sora stated. "It's the right thing to do then throw her in the streets to fend for herself."

"The right thing to do is call the police," Kairi snapped lightly. "It's their job to protect people and you should take her down to the station where they can figure out who is she."

Sora didn't say anything, looking over at Mizu who was sitting on the sidewalk.

"Listen, I could talk to my dad," Kairi suggested. "He could put out a message to the neighboring cities about a missing girl. Maybe she got left behind during some tourist thing."

Mizu sighed deeply, wishing they would hurry up. Sure, she understood that saying goodnight was one of those times where people usually kissed and said their goodbyes but even so…

"Kairi, listen," Sora was fed up with Kairi's constant prodding. "Mizu will not go the police station. You're treating her like some sort of insane criminal who comes to people's houses and pretends to forget about everything. My mom said she would take care of her needs so please stop asking all this."

"WHAT!?" Kairi snapped angrily. Mizu looked up and over at the two after hearing someone shout.

"How could you say that?" Kairi cried out. "I'm trying to look out for you and all you say is that is none of my business. Excuse me for caring for my boyfriend!"

"I never said it wasn't your business, all I meant was that if she's forced to go to the police or without knowing, she'd hate me," Sora pleaded. He'd never seen Kairi this mad.

"Why do you care so much about what she thinks about you?" Kairi questioned, still angry. "You've only known her for two days and all of a sudden you're acting like you've been friends with her for your entire life."

"It doesn't matter if I've known her for a day or since I was alive, a friend is a friend," Sora stated, turning away from him.

Kairi rolled her eyes, not believing her friend. "Whatever. Good night."

Sora curtly nodded with a stern facial expression and left from her porch. Mizu saw Sora's pained face as he approached her. "Sora?"

"Let's go home Mizu," Sora said without emotion. He took her hand in his, startling her. She could tell he was trying to keep himself together.

"Okay."

-00-

Author's Notes:

I tried not to make this another filler chapter even though it sort of seems like it (to me anyway). Nothing TOO crazy or extreme events took place but I guess that's sometimes what happens. Expect for maybe the ending scene with Kairi and Sora. More Cloud being a weirdo with Mizu but that's pretty normal. So far, nothing is really going on which is sort of good and bad. Good – it provides information about why events will happen. Bad – it takes forever to get to the JUICY part but nonetheless there will be some stuff coming up soon.

What to expect for next time: DEATH! Nah, just kidding. Let's see—Emotions gone awry; relationships strain; awkward situations…a lonely Roxas?


	6. Meet the Family

_**Journey to a New World**_

**Author's Notes: **I totally forgot to give a shout out on the last chapter so; this is for my lovely Sweet Nightmare's Good Byes. She's been so good to me by commenting. So I dedicate this chapter to you Sweet-chan!

**Disclaimer**: See Chapter 1 or 5.

-00-

Chapter 6: Getting to know the Family

Sora woke up feeling sick to his stomach. Maybe it was the lack of food but it was probably because of the situation with Kairi. Sure he didn't mean to get mad with her but she had no right to go into their business.

He rolled over onto the other side of the bed and sighed deeply. _Maybe I should take Mizu down to the police so she can find her family. It would be for the best, wouldn't it? Maybe Kairi is right. Do I really even know this girl other than her story of losing her memory? _Sora continued to lay there until he heard a scuffling over by his door. He then heard a light knock on the door along with a small "hello?".

Sora smiled softly and walked on over to the entrance.

"Good morning," Mizu chirped as he opened the door. "Geez Sora, you sure sleep for a long time. Everyone's already up already."

"Yeah; I'll be down in a minute," he yawned and rubbed his eyes to remove the sleep from them.

"Okie dokie," Mizu waved as she went down the stairs. Sora nodded sleepily and watched as he watched her go.

As Mizu trotted down the stairs, she saw Cloud was outside already. He was talking to a girl who looked similar to her. She secretly watched from the window, crouching low to the ground. He looked sort of upset about something as he talked to the girl. She had her arms crossed over her chest, listening to him talk. Mizu continued to watch them until she heard a cough from behind her. She looked to find Sora with a confused expression on his face.

"Why are you on the stairs?" Sora asked as he tried to see at what she was looking at. Mizu tried to cover it by placing her hands on the window. "Hah! I'm not doing anything, I swear! Just looking at the view is all!"

Sora attempted to see beyond but slipped on one of the steps. He shouted and grabbed Mizu's arm, bringing her down with him.

"Ahhhhh—Sora!" Mizu cried as she tumbled down a few stairs. She landed on her back with Sora on top. "Oww…"

Sora seemed to be completely out because he wouldn't budge from on top of her. Mizu attempted to get him off her but she couldn't move him.

"WAKE UP SORA!" Mizu yelled, bopping him on his head. She finally had had enough and threw him off her. Geez, he sure looked light.

"Okay then," a low voice said and Mizu tilted her head back to find familiar sneakers in front of her. "Sora is such a hypocrite, honestly."

"You've got it all wrong! We fell down the stairs," Mizu blabbered as she sat up. Cloud raised an eyebrow. "How did you manage to do that?"

"Well—" Mizu rubbed the back of her head. "I sort of was looking out the window…at some things. And then I didn't want to show him so he tried to find out and he tripped and stuff."

"What were you looking at?" Cloud said, not following with what she was saying.

"Heh—about that…" Mizu trailed off before looking at Cloud. "I saw you and a girl."

Cloud didn't say anything at first, but then sighed. "Okay."

"I'm sorry!" Mizu said, twiddling her thumbs. "I didn't know it was a secret meeting. She's really pretty, you know."

Cloud shrugged his shoulders and left into the kitchen. Mizu was still confused and poked Sora in the head. "You alive?"

* * *

Mizu sat in the kitchen, massaging her back while Sora looked through a first aid kit in the pantry.

"So what it the world were you looking at that caused us to fall tumbling down the stairs?" Sora said as he placed an ice pack on his head.

Mizu sighed in defeat. "Don't want to talk about it now."

Sora poked her head, before sitting down. He leaned back on the chair, keeping the ice on her forehead. Mizu could see how much pain Sora was in as he winced when he tried to apply pressure to his head.

"H-hey Sora?" she hesitated. "Ummm—does Cloud have a girlfriend?" She then remembered the distressed look in Cloud's eyes. "Or did have a girlfriend?

Sora perked up and looked at her in question. "Not right now but yeah. He's had a bunch."

"O-oh," Mizu said. Sora was a little confused. "Why are you asking?"

"Well, I saw Cloud with a girl outside this morning," Mizu said. "That's why I didn't want you to see. I thought I'd look like I was spying even though I wasn't."

"Mizu," Sora sounded irritated which made Mizu look down.

"I don't know. I didn't think," Mizu spoke solemnly. "I'm sorry for doing something so stupid on stairs and causing a big ordeal."

Throughout the whole morning, the three teenagers barely spoke to each other. It was awkward but the silence had to come to an end.

"Cloud, are you mad at me?" Mizu asked as she watched Cloud clicked the TV on.

"What are you talking about?" Cloud looked up at her. "Oh you mean before. I don't really care if you were watching. In fact, I think it's kind of cute you're jealous."

"I am not!" Mizu blushed, grabbing the bottom of her shirt. Looking away, she asked, "Anyway, who is she?"

"Her name's Tifa," Cloud said. "She and I went out for a while. After I dated Kairi."

"You dated Kairi?" Mizu gaped. Cloud nodded his head. "Yup. Only for about a week though. She was really too clingy and needy. I don't really know what Sora sees in her but whatev-"

"Don't talk about her that way, Cloud!" Mizu demanded, closing her eyes tightly. "Sora likes her and you should be nice."

"It's really none of your business either," Cloud snapped. Mizu drew back but grumbled nonetheless. "Whatever."

Mizu stood up and left Cloud in the living room as Sora walked in from the bathroom. She went outside and sat down on the steps. As she continued to look out she sighed in defeat. _I don't feel well. Why do I feel like I'm missing something?_

* * *

Mizu continued down the street feeling out of place. She then saw a familiar blond sitting in the park. She walked over to him to find it was Roxas sort of half asleep on the bench. "Roxas?"

He immediately perked up and a scowl appeared. "Oh; it's you. The girl who fell into Sora's house."

"I do have a name you know," Mizu whined. Roxas yawned as he replied with a "yeah-yeah".

"You're just as mean as Cloud, you know that?" Mizu pressed on. "I've never said anything to you to make you so mean. Anyway, what are you doing, sleeping in a park?"

"My dad sent me out of the house for 'having an attitude'," Roxas grumbled. "Whatever; I'm used to it. In fact, I prefer sleeping out here than in that hell hole."

"He's kicked you out before?" Mizu was completed shocked by how okay Roxas was with it. "I don't understand—"

"You're just a child," Roxas snapped, not liking how this girl was being so sympathetic to him. _I don't need anyone to feel sorry for me. I'm not a pathetic crying baby. _"**You** wouldn't understand; just like Sora."

"Excuse me?" Mizu retorted. "You're what?—maybe a year older than me—I am not a child!"

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" a deep voice came from behind them. "Is the shrimp bullying some girl?"

Mizu turned to find a tall blond haired man and a grey and black haired man with smirks on their faces. Their clothes consisted mostly of black with a necklace that had a strange symbol. The blond hair had a couple of piercings on his left eyebrow and ears along with a card in his hand. The black haired man had a long ponytail and sunglasses on. Roxas immediately stood up and put himself between Mizu and them.

"What do you want?" Roxas hissed. The boys laughed. "Little Roxy's got himself a girlfriend I see."

"Let's go," Roxas said to Mizu. At first, Mizu shook her head but when Roxas took her hand in his own, she complied. The boys made whistling noises and followed them to the point where they had to run from them.

"Roxas," Mizu started, trying to keep up with him. "Who—"

"Just shut up and run!"

* * *

"Sora! Open up!" Roxas pounded on his cousin's door. Mizu was startled by how fuming Roxas was.

"Gosh, Roxas! You don't need to break the door!" Sora shouted before he saw Mizu. "What are you guys doing!"

"Never mind, just let us in," Roxas said as he pushed his way into the house with Mizu following closely behind. He collapsed on the couch taking Mizu along with him. Sora immediately realized that the two of them holding hands. He gave a strained cough, "So…"

"Don't be ridiculous, Sora," Roxas exclaimed as he let go of Mizu's hand. "She just refused to follow me so I had to do something."

Mizu sat there in silence, still confused by the earlier encounter with the strange older boys.

"What were you guys running away from anyway?" Sora said as he collapsed in the other chair.

"Some bastards who were at the park," Roxas huffed. "I swear to God they keep following me—claiming that they used to be my friends—idiots."

They all sat there in silence for a couple of seconds when the telephone rang. Sora quickly got up and went to answer it while Mizu and Roxas sat there in silence.

"Roxas," Mizu started. "I—"

"I'm out of here," Roxas shot up, not wanting to hear her voice. "See ya."

"But—" Mizu continued but Roxas merely turned and left her alone. She raised her hand to her head, sighing deeply.

Standing in front of the mirror, Mizu looked at herself. Her hair was up in a messy ponytail and two pieces of hair framed her face. Her usual cheery hazel eyes were tired and seemed to be a different darker shade of brown. The clothes Mrs. Sonia had bought felt out of place on Mizu. The soft yellow sundress had lost its glow and her beige capris seemed to look grey. Closing her eyes, she breathed in deeply, trying to get rid of the stress she had just had. Maybe a quick walk around the neighborhood will clear my head.

_Hopefully I won't have any more strange encounters with weird people like before. _She sighed and descended into the sunset.

* * *

Kairi sat on the bench outside her house, sighing deeply. She'd been so hard on Sora. But that girl—

"It seems that there is darkness in even one of the purest of heart," an unknown voice chuckled. Kairi turned around to find no one there but remained on her guard.

"What?" Kairi's eyes darted over the surroundings before her. "Who are you? Show yourself!"

She was met with an eerie laugh and backed up against her home door. Clutching the handle, she took one last glance around her before she quickly slipped into her house. She swiftly locked all the doors on the ground level and reached for the telephone by the living room couch. As she picked up the phone, there was no ring tone and she began to panic.

Another hollow chuckle swept through her house, raising the hair on the back of her neck. Frightened, she ran up the stairs to her room and locked the door. When she saw her cell phone on her bed, a wave of relief came over her. She grabbed it and started to punch in the numbers for the police.

"Hello, this is the Destiny Island Police Department," a man's voice answered, giving Kairi hope. "What is your emergency?"

"This is Kairi Hinotami, the Mayor's daughter," Kairi spoke hurriedly. "Someone is on my property trying to get into my house. Please send someone over! I'm frightened!"

"Hello? Is anyone there?" the man on the phone asked. "If this is a prank call, the police does not find it amusing at all."

"YES! I'm here! Why can't you hea—" Kairi stopped short when she saw a purple glow around her body.

"So sorry, dear Princess," the unknown voice snickered. "It seems no one can hear you."

Kairi dropped the phone, eyes widening. Feeling a cold sensation prick her limbs, she knew no matter what she did she would not be saved.

"It's time to release your true potential," the man smirked, moving away from the shadows. "Let us open the door together."

Kairi let out a scream but no one heard and thrashed out in one final attempt to break free.

* * *

Mizu saw Kairi slumped on the side of the brick wall. "Kairi? Are you okay?"

The girl didn't do anything but continued to stay there and Mizu took a step forward cautiously. "Kai-!"

The girl then looked over and her eyes were like yellow holes. Kairi quickly made her way to Mizu and smiled cruelly.

"K-kairi!" Mizu managed to say as Kairi's hold around her neck tightened. "Why-why are you doing this?"

"You cannot have Sora!" she shouted. "You stupid little b*tch."

Mizu tried to break free but Kairi's stone grip held tight. "Arghh! Let me—GO!"

"Heh," Kairi chuckled, flipping her hair. "No."

"Stop it! Please! STOP—"

"IT! LEMME Go! AhHHH!" Mizu screamed as loud as she could hoping someone would hear.

"MIZU!" a voice shouted. "Mizu! What's wrong!"

She opened her eyes to find Sora shaking her shoulders. Sora looked so scared and she could see in her doorway Mrs. Sonia, Sora's dad, and Cloud. She nodded her head and pushed Sora away.

"I-I just need to go to the bathroom," she quickly got up and apologized as she went downstairs.

"W-wait a minute," Sora called out.

"Sora, go back to bed," his mother said and followed her husband back into their room. "You too Cloud."

"But—"

"Now Sora."

Sora nodded and walked to the doorway to find Cloud resting on the wall outside of Mizu's room. "Cloud."

"Yeah?"

"C-could you check on Mizu for me?" he asked, bowing his head.

"Well; I don't feel like getting on Mom's bad side so—"

"Please! I'll tell her something like—"

"Fine."

Cloud walked away and followed where Mizu had gone. Sora nodded and went back to his room.

* * *

Cloud found the girl sitting outside on the grass, looking up at the stars. He was a little confused as to why she was acting so weird but decided to not ask.

"Mizu?" Cloud called out to her. She didn't respond and Cloud moved closer to her. "Hey, kid; you okay?"

"The stars," Mizu raised an arm up to grab the air. "Why are they so different looking? I've never seen so many big ones. Only small ones. Could they be other worlds?"

"What are you talking about?" Cloud questioned, moving in front of Mizu. "There's only here."

"No," Mizu continued to stare at them in the sky. "Alone in this world. That's sad."

"Mizu, look—look at me," Cloud took Mizu's arm and pulled it down. He saw how she was still staring up at the space. He then took her face and moved it so she'd look at him. "What's wrong?"

She stared at him, almost lifeless. Her eyes were like doll's eyes. There was nothing in them but the reflection of Cloud himself.

"Mizu?"

She heard her name and looked at Cloud. "Cloud? What's going on?"

Cloud didn't believe what he was hearing and let go of her. He pulled her into a tight embrace and sighed. "Wh-what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Cloud said, still holding her tightly. "Nothing's wrong."

-00-

Author's Notes:

I apologize soooo much for it taking forever to get this chapter out. I really want to finish this story and will try with all my heart. Thank you to everyone who is putting up with this lack of updates. T_T

What to expect in the next chapter: Hanging out with Selphie, misunderstandings and shadows in the night.


	7. Wash Away the Worry

_**Journey to a New World**_

**Author's Notes:** I'm going a little stronger with the updates and such. YAYY~! Although, school is coming up in a week or so, so I've not sure how updating is going to go. Nonetheless, I will, with all my heart, try to continue through the year. :)

Those who followed this story back in 2006 may recognize some of the events in this chapter. They're cleaned up of course. I didn't want all that "awesome" scenes to go to waste. XD

**Character Change**: Hah, I totally forgot to mention that Sora's last name is Hatsu. While it probably isn't too much of an important change, I thought it needed. YAY~!

**Includes: **Time with Selphie, static, cameo appearances, Kairi-nonexistence, and darkness.

-00-

Chapter 7: Wash Away the Worry

The strong smell of freshly brewed coffee swept through the kitchen. Cloud closed the cupboard after finding the cup he wanted. He took the coffee pot and poured the liquid into the mug. Sitting down into the chair, Cloud sighed, rubbing his temples.

He then heard the light footsteps of someone coming down the stairs. "Something smells good."

"Hey Mom," Cloud greeted as he waved his hand, startling her.

"Oh! Good Morning Cloud," she smiled, walking over to the coffee pot. "You surprised me there."

She took a floral mug from the cabinet and began to pour herself a drink. "This isn't like you getting up before everyone. Are you alright?"

"Well, it's about Mizu," Cloud admitted, putting down the cup in his hand. "Last night, after everyone went back to bed, I went to go downstairs and check on Mizu."

"Cloud—"

"Now before you scold me for not listening to you, I found her outside on the front lawn mumbling something about being alone in the universe. Then when I tried to talk to her, she seemed lifeless and she then seemed to break from a trance and couldn't remember anything."

Mrs. Sonia closed her eyes, taking everything in. "So, what are you getting at?"

"I think she should go to the doctor's or something," Cloud stated. "There's something not right about her and I don't want her to—"

"I agree with you Cloud," she said suddenly. "These…episodes she's been having cannot be healthy for her. Even so, we aren't her family and I'm not her mother. We can't just bring her in."

"Then; maybe…the police. We could bring her down there and she could be reunited with her family," Cloud said, hoping his mother would understand. "We could let them know that she's been having these strange occurrences. It could be stress from her memory loss."

"I will talk to her about it later today, for now please do not bring it up," Mrs. Sonia said and she sipped on her coffee. "She may be upset with the idea of going to the doctor's. And don't tell Sora—"

"'Don't tell Sora' what?'" Sora asked, staring at his family in confusion. Cloud and Mrs. Sonia took a moment to compose themselves before his mother smiled softly.

"Sora," his mother stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We're out of pancake mix."

* * *

Mizu took the hair tie and placed in at the end of her braid. She smiled at herself and stood up. _Today is a new day; it'll be a good day._

"Mizu, you ready?" Sora knocked on Mizu's open door. She turned around to her friend and nodded happily.

"Yeah," Mizu said as she walked over to Sora. "Off to Selphie's!"

_I know it. Today will be fun._

* * *

A short and sweet melody played as Sora rang the doorbell. The tune seemed to match the cheeriness of the outside of the house, being that its main color scheme included a deep red and soft yellow.

"Hey you guys!" Selphie smiled as she opened the door. "How've you been?"

"H-h-hi Selphie," Mizu struggled to say while having Selphie basically squeezing her as tightly as she could. Sora chuckled at the two.

"So, you wanted to hang out at the coolest girl in town?" Selphie chuckled up to the sky as she put her hands on her hips. "Hah, I'm so cool."

"Well, Mizu needs to hang out with other people other than my lame excuse of a brother," Sora started which made Selphie laugh. "And I gotta go to school to get some papers sorted out."

Hearing that Sora wasn't staying to hang out made Mizu a little sad.

"I see," Selphie said as she put her hand in the air. "Well don't you worry; Selphie the Extraordinaire is here to help! It'll be a girl's day today!"

"Thanks Selphie," Sora smiled. Mizu's expression turned from confusion to anger. _Am I some small child who was getting dropped off at "day care"? Can I not take care of myself?_

As Sora walked out the door, Mizu raced after him. She got in front of him and asked, "H-How come I can't come with you? Do you not want to spend time with me or something?"

Sora was at first surprised by his friend but then smiled softly. "Mizu, I don't want you to go because it'd be boring. I won't be there very long and I'll catch up with you guys later."

He saw that Mizu was not convinced. He continued, "You know school is never fun so why should you have to go through all the non-fun stuff when you can hang out with Selph?"

Boldly, she said, "Anything is fun when I'm with you."

Sora blushed and scratched the back of his head. "Oh; is that so?"

She could tell she'd embarrassed him and knew that he was leaving her here for good intentions. She smiled. "Okay; you're right. School is lame anyway."

She giggled when Sora gave her a dumbfounded look. "I'll see you around then!"

* * *

Mizu and Selphie hung out for a while watching T.V. and talking about random topics. From school to boys, Mizu mostly just listened to Selphie's many stories, once in a while adding her own comments. When Selphie realized she was mostly the one talking, she bowed her head in embarrassment.

"Here I am, blabbering away again," she laughed as she rubbed the back of her head. "You must be bored of all my stories."

"No-no!" Mizu giggled. "In fact, I quite enjoy them. You sure have an amazing life here. I really wish I knew stuff about my life."

"The Heart Festival is coming up in a few weeks," Selphie replied as she saw Mizu's eyes look down to the floor. "With all the tourists from around the world coming, I know you'll definitely find someone there who can help you!"

Mizu shook the coming sadness and perked up. "Yeah! You're right Selphie!"

She laughed, pushing her anxiety away. "So, what exactly is the Heart Festival about?"

"Well it's where a bunch of tourists from the main lands and everywhere else come to our islands to experience the water. There's an old legend about how it has healing abilities for the body and soul. Naturally, summer is the time when you get a break from all the stress in school and work so it became a tourist spot. Last year was so amazing. Our island went all out with large parties and all sorts of fireworks and events. There were sales at malls and so many trinket vendors. There was this one cute boy who…"

Mizu smiled as Selphie went into another story about her life. _This is nice. Maybe if I find my parents at the festival everything will be better._

"…and then it turned out he just wanted to be friends. He said long distance relationships never work out which I can understand," Selphie smiled at the thought. "Boy, he sure was cute and so nice."

"Selph~!" a girl's voice said as the door opened. Mizu and Selphie looked to see a girl with short black hair and burgundy colored eyes. She was wearing sunglasses on her head and had a strange looking bag that looked like a cross. A sleeveless green jacket was over a black camisole with a floral design. She wore beige shorts with matching colored boots that just fell under her knees with black knee highs. "Oh! Hello there!"

"Heya Yuf~," Selphie smiled and turned to Mizu. "Mizu, this is my older sister Yuffie. Yuffie, this is my friend Mizu."

"Nice to meet 'cha kiddo," Yuffie smiled as she came over to the couch and placed her bag on the table.

"Hello," Mizu smiled back, a little uneasy with meeting new people without Sora. "It's nice to meet you too."

"So, where have you been?" Selphie asked as Yuffie took a seat. "Dad said you were needed at the welcoming center. Was something wrong?"

"Nahh," Yuffie waved her hand as she laughed. "Cid was having problems with figuring out how to get the chocobos to get in their pens. He's such a doof sometimes. Anyway, Ms. Gainsborough asked me to come down this morning to check inventory and help Reno."

"I see," Selphie said as she saw her sister rummage through her bag. "It must be so much fun doing all that stuff."

"I'll see if you can help out next time," Yuffie smiled as she found the item she was looking for. "A-ha~! I knew Leon didn't take it."

"Oh yeah; I have a question Yuffie!" Selphie put her hands together. "Would you mind driving us downtown? Please please!"

"You could walk yanno," Yuffie said, playing with the trinket.

"But it's so loooong and tiring!" Selphie whined. "Please Yuffieee~!"

"Fine, but you owe me," Yuffie sighed as she grabbed her purse. "Give me 20 minutes and then we can go, 'kay?"

"Thank you big sis~!" Selphie exclaimed and hugged Yuffie. Yuffie headed upstairs and Mizu looked over at Selphie.

"Let's go get ready too, Mizu!" Selphie smiled and took her hand upstairs. Mizu felt a little uncomfortable as she walked up the stairs. Her vision became blurry and a static sounding noise rang through her ears. She shook it off and continued to follow her friend into her room.

The room was for the most part neat with the exception of the mountain of clothes in the girl's hamper. The color scheme of the room was a mix of pink, blue and bits of green and purple.

"So, would you mind if I put some makeup on you?" Selphie asked politely. "I really want to be a makeup artist when I get older. I'm really good!"

"I guess that'd be okay," Mizu smiled, seeing her friend's enthusiasm. "So long as I don't turn out looking like a clown or something."

Selphie clapped her hands together and cheered. "I promise. So first we'll grab some foundation, find a good color for your eye shadow, hmmm…"

Mizu blushed, not being familiar with the whole makeup ordeal. "Just do whatever."

Selphie made small talk as she lined Mizu's eyes with liner and looked for a good shadow. Mizu was nearly gasped when Selphie opened a drawer to find it half full of eye shadow colors. _Woah, I certainly hope she becomes a makeup artist. Who knew there were THAT many colors for something as small as eye shadow._

Mizu looked around and spotted a bookcase with no books but instead picture frames. She became curious but didn't move since Selphie was busy putting mascara on her lashes.

"Almost done," Selphie spoke as she gently applied lipstick on Mizu's mouth. "THERE!"

Mizu looked at the mirror and gaped. The soft pink mixed with purple on her eyelids blended beautifully into the light blush. Her eyelashes seemed to look fuller and the liner brought the color of her eyes out. The touch of crimson lipstick brought it all together. "Wow! Selphie, you're amazing!"

"Aww thanks Mi~!" Selphie grinned in delight. "Now, lemme quickly do mine and Yuffie should be ready soon too."

Mizu walked over to the bookcase she previously saw and gazed at each of them. There was one of Selphie's family and another of just her and Yuffie. The next couple of pictures were with Tidus, Wakka, Sora, Riku, Kairi and on the rare occasion Roxas. One of the pictures caught Mizu's attention.

"Selphie, is this—!" Mizu pointed to the two in the picture as she showed it to Selphie. She gaped as she passed the photo.

"Yes indeed," Selphie laughed, taking the picture frame from Mizu. "This is Sora and Riku as kids."

The said boys were standing side by side outside by a garden. While Sora looked completely clueless, Riku had his mouth open as if he were about to tell the photographer not to take the picture. Sora had on a bright pink dress with a large matching pink bow atop his head. The dress had puffy sparkly shoulders, a solid pink middle and a matching poofy, glittering bottom. Riku, on the other hand, was wearing a flowery yellow sundress with and heart in the middle and brown leggings. His bangs were pinned back with 4 small yellow barrettes in his hair.

"I had them dress up because they said they were prettier than me," Selphie pouted, faintly remembering Riku's taunting. "They were right."

Mizu giggled as she put the frame back and then saw another picture similar to Sora' and Riku's. Only it looked like a recent picture. "Oh my gosh—ROXAS!"

The two continued to dive into memories when Yuffie knocked on the door.

* * *

"Thanks for the ride downtown!" Selphie smiled at her sister as she got out of the car. "Don't forget to pick us up at around 5! I'll give you a call if we're running late."

"Okie dokie!" her sister smiled and gave a peace sign with her fingers before driving away.

"Let's go!" Selphie smiled, taking Mizu's arm in hers. Mizu glanced at her surroundings and grinned. Most of the buildings had large windows for everyone to see the items they were selling and made of white concrete. There were murals drawn on the walls of dolphins, whales, and other aquatic animals.

As they neared the beach, Mizu suddenly remembered something. "I don't have a bathing suit."

Selphie stopped walking and itched her head. "Well, that's not going to work."

"I've got an idea~!" Selphie bounced and turned to her friend. "Let's go get you a swimsuit."

"Ehhh?"

* * *

After much struggling and pleading, Selphie finally got Mizu to walk into one of the stores called "Sun and Sand."

"Okay," Selphie walked over to the rack of bathing suit tops and bottoms. "What do you see here?"

Mizu tentatively looked through, getting an uneasy feeling as she saw how revealing they all were. She then spotted a red bikini with orange and yellow beads. The bottoms were like shorts and Mizu picked it out. "I like this one."

Selphie looked at it and smiled back. "That looks so cute. Try it on!"

Mizu came out of the changing room, grinning to Selphie. She opened her purse, making Mizu's stomach drop. "Selphie, you don't—"

"Don't," Selphie held her hand up. "I don't mind paying."

_Everyone is so nice here. This town is too good to be true._

* * *

Mizu and Selphie ran through the water with other people she didn't really know. She vaguely remembered them having names along the lines of Demyx, George (but he called himself Goofy), Donald, Olette, Pence, and Marluxia. They played Frisbee for a while until a couple of them were asked by other people to join their volleyball game. Mizu went over to their towels to grab a drink.

"C'mon Mizu!" Selphie laughed as she ran over to the court. "Come on and join!"

"I'll be just a minute," Mizu smiled when she felt her heart beat in her ears. She gasped quickly, bringing a hand to her neck. She couldn't hear anything but static and the scene in front of her began to tear away. She then looked to the side of her and saw a dark form beside her and she panicked.

"Mizu?" Selphie placed a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

Mizu's vision returned and she weakly smiled. "Oh yeah. I'm okay. I spaced out!"

"Oh," Selphie nodded, still a little worried for her friend. "Well, I wanted to know if you wanted to go out on Demyx's boat."

"What happened to volleyball?" Mizu questioned, looking over at the people.

"We made teams so we're not up yet," Selphie said. "So, Demyx said we could kill time by going tubing. It's so cool and a lot of fun!"

"I—"

"Mizu!" a voice called from behind. They looked over to see Sora along with Roxas, who seemed to be in a better mood. Selphie stood up and put her hands on her hips but smiled nonetheless.

"Hey!" Mizu called out to them and stood up as well. She then felt a little bad for ditching Selphie but saw Selphie waved her hand as she went over to the dock.

Mizu ran over to Sora and Roxas but her legs gave out and the whole world went bright orange and blurry. She heard Sora yell out and raced to where she had fallen.

"Mizu, are you okay?" Sora gasped, not knowing whether to touch her.

_Go away. Whatever this static is; stop it._

"Owww," Mizu muffled as she spit sand out of her mouth. "I'm such a klutz."

Sora sighed and Roxas laughed at Mizu's sandy face. "Hey, you look good."

She stuck her tongue out and brushed the sand off the rest of her. "So, did your school stuff go well?"

"Yep," Sora patted the bag slung over his shoulder. "I found Roxas along the way too."

"Oh no!" Mizu put her hands to her face. "All that hard work Selphie did on my makeup."

Sora laughed at Mizu's expression. Seeing this made Mizu twitch an eyebrow. "You know Sora…I did happen to see that adorable picture of you and Riku when you two were younger."

Sora immediately whipped his head to her and blushed. "W-Wha?"

"You two were so cute," Mizu smirked. "As girls."

Sora's face was beet red as he mumbled something about getting back at Selphie. It was Roxas's turn to burst out in laughter and Mizu's eye sparkled.

"Ohh Roxas, I haven't forgotten about you," she grinned evilly. "Why exactly were you dressed up like that? Was it really for a play—or do you just enjoy it?"

Roxas shut up and turned the same shade of red as Sora. "Y-You!"

"I really did like the long hair and makeup."

"SELPHIE!" both Sora and Roxas yelled at the same time. They ran over to the edge of the water, calling for Demyx to dock immediately. Mizu could practically see the steam coming from her friends.

"Hah~!"

* * *

Sora, Roxas and Mizu thanked Yuffie as she drove away. They walked into Sora's house and began to take off their shoes when, Roxas cleared his throat. "So, thanks for letting me stay here for the next couple of days."

Sora was a bit taken back by Roxas's statement. He smiled, "It's no problem."

"I really appreciate it," Roxas said quietly as they walked into the kitchen. Sora felt his heart almost flutter in happiness. "You're family, Roxas. You're welcome over any time you want."

As they ascended up the steps, Sora remembered Mizu was using the guest room. He stopped at the top of the staircase and laughed nervously, "Well, I guess it'll really be like old times."

Roxas sighed but smiled anyway. "That's fine."

Sora and Mizu looked at each other as Roxas went down the hall to Sora's room. They smiled at each other. _The family was getting together again._

"You get the floor Sora," Roxas called from inside the room. "I am your guest."

"Hey! That's not fair!" Sora whined as he left Mizu. "It's my room!"

Mizu laughed at the two, seeing a pillow fly out of Sora's (and Roxas's) room.

"Hah! You missed—Oof!"

"We're home!" Mrs. Sonia called out in a sing-song voice. Mizu looked down the staircase to see Cloud with a brown haired man. She was met with grayish-blue eyes and a line scar running from the left of his forehead to his right cheek. He had a black jacket with faux fur lining the collar over a white shirt. Resting on his chest was a necklace with an emblem that resembled a lion. He had on black leather pants with a couple of belts wrapped around his waist.

"Heya Mimi~!" Cloud waved as they walked up the stairs. Mizu slowly waved back and backed up to let them through. She stared at Cloud's friend, a little intimidated by his hard stare.

"Oh! This is Leon," Cloud pointed to his friend with a thumb. "Oh my; Leon, that's a rather scary face you're giv—"

Leon whacked the back of Cloud's head, grunting, "Shut it Cloud."

Mizu watched in curiosity as Cloud rubbed the sensitive area. Leon grumbled something about Cloud being immature when Sora and Roxas came out of their room.

"Well, whatdya know," Cloud said as his cousin and brother met them. "We've got the whole family here."

"Hey Leon," Sora smiled. "Long time, no see. I hope Cloud's not too much of an annoyance since you're his only friend."

"HEY!" Cloud wrapped his arm around Sora's neck and gave him a noogie. "Look who's talking, squirt!"

"Aghh~!"

"Mizu, dear," Mrs. Sonia said from the kitchen. "Could you come down for a minute?"

Mizu slipped past all the boys and found Mrs. Sonia and Mr. Hatsu sitting at the table. She was a little worried, seeing their solemn facial expressions. Taking a seat, Mizu gulped and put her hands in her lap.

"You're not in trouble," Mrs. Sonia began. "We're just—"

"My wife has brought it to my attention that you've been having these—" Mr. Hatsu searched for the right words. "…strange occurrences since you've been with us."

Mizu looked down at the table, upset with where this was going.

"Don't be upset, sweetheart," Mrs. Sonia tried to reach out to her. "We're just concerned about your health. We want to make sure you're okay. Please understand."

"I do, Mrs. Sonia," Mizu said in a monotone voice. _I'm fine now! Please don't think I'm some crazy person!_

"We'd like to bring you to a doctor's tomorrow morning," Mr. Hatsu said softly. "Please do not worry though. We only want to keep you safe."

_Okay…doctor's isn't bad. There's nothing wrong with me. I'm fine._

"O-okay," Mizu bowed her head as she got up. "I think I'll go to bed now."

"Mi—" Mrs. Sonia started but felt her husband's hand on her shoulder. Mizu climbed the steps and brushed past someone. She whispered an apology and went into her room.

Roxas watched as Mizu closed her door with a puzzled expression. She looked as if she was about to cry. At first he took a step towards the door but decided against knocking on it.

"Yo Roxas, did you die or something?" Cloud's voice asked from one of the bedrooms. "You getting the popcorn?"

"I'm going," Roxas yelled back, turning away from the girl's door.

* * *

_Mizu awoke to the sound of people in hushed conversation and the smell of breakfast. As she got up, the room seemed to be somewhat empty. Ignoring it, she walked downstairs to find Cloud, Leon, Sora, Roxas and Sora's parents at the table happily in conversation. Smiling brightly, Mizu chirped good morning. However, they didn't seem to hear her and continued to talk to one another. A little perplexed, Mizu tried again._

_ This time, however, no voice came from her. Instead a haunting snigger replied._

_ "You don't belong here, do you?" a voice cackled through the air. Mizu watched as the scene moved away. As a black hand made its way onto her shoulder, she sprinted towards the family. As she attempted to run, she felt as though she were slowing down. It was as if there was no gravity._

_ "This isn't your place," the mysterious voice continued, almost harshly. Mizu shook her head, not wanting to believe it. She did belong here. With her friends._

"_You should go." That statement stopped her completely and she fell through the darkness._

* * *

"All done, Ms. Hatsu," the nurse smiled, patting the girl on the head. "Let me just get the doctor."

Mizu stared at the star patterned band-aid on her finger, bending it up and down. She wanted to say that Hatsu wasn't her last name but shrugged and went along with it. The door opened to reveal a odd looking man with long blond locks and comically large glasses. His abnormally lengthy white jacket fell to his knees and a stethoscope was wrapped around his neck. His nametag read "Dr. V. Noebudy".

"Hello there, my name is Dr. Noebudy but you can call me Vexen," the doctor gave a crooked smile. "Mrs. Hatsu told me of your situation about your recent memory lose. Now if you could sit on up here, we'll check you out."

After the routine check-up, he started to type into the computer about her information.

"Alrightie Ms. Hatsu," Vexen pressed a button on the keyboard and turned over to her. "Blood work came back fine. Your reflexes are good. You're in tip top shape."

Mizu nodded, slightly swinging her feet. _There's nothing wrong with me. That's good, isn't it?_

"Do you have any questions?" Dr. Vexen asked, seeing the girl's confused expression.

"Well, it's just," Mizu looked up at the doctor. "Lately, I've been passing out from time to time. I came here to see if I was sick or had a defiency of something that was causing this. Or maybe why I have lost my memory."

"It could be because of stress," Vexen said as he sat down in a nearby chair. "Since you have lost your memory, the pressure to familiarize yourself with so many new things may be causing your fainting. For now, take breaks when you do anything that may exert yourself. If you have any more problems, please feel free to come by again."

"Thank you Dr. Vexen," Mizu smiled as she hopped off the seat.

"Have a good day," he said as she walked out to reunite with Mrs. Sonia.

-00-

**Author's Notes:**

Lol; while I was going through this story; I realized that it's only been about 4 days Mizu's been on the islands. XD Man I feel like she's been there about a month with what is going on. Sooo, there was a lot added to the original storyline which is fine to me because then I can write a lot more.

Relationships don't progress THAT fast as well. Gotta get Sora and Kairi to break up soon so Mizu and he can have a relationship other friendship cuz that was in my original. Though, if it doesn't fit then that's okay. Yay! Updating this story is both hard and fun!

**Next time in JTANW: **Kairi's back, Riku is too, a pleasant sunset, Blitzball (a.k.a. whack-a-Tidus), and a new addition to the Hatsu Household.

Until next time, **HIKARI,** **out!**


End file.
